Polish Security Council Meeting Sparks Political Dispute

The news in Polish

1. zwołać
   zorganizować spotkanie lub zebranie i wezwać ludzi, żeby na nie przyszli ↩︎
2. opozycja  (f.)
   partie polityczne i politycy, którzy nie rządzą, lecz krytykują rząd i proponują inne rozwiązania ↩︎
3. pożyczka  (f.)
   pieniądze pożyczone komuś lub od kogoś na jakiś czas, zwykle do oddania z odsetkami ↩︎
4. kontakt  (m.)
   relacje lub więzi między osobami, instytucjami albo państwami; możliwość komunikowania się ↩︎
5. spór  (m.)
   sytuacja, gdy ludzie mają różne zdania na jakiś temat i się nie zgadzają ↩︎
6. sympatia  (f.)
   pozytywne uczucie lub poparcie dla kogoś albo czegoś; lubienie czyichś poglądów lub działań ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Who will take part in the meeting of the National Security Council in Poland?

Question 2: What are two of the main topics that will be discussed at the meeting?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
zwołać	to convene
opozycja  (f.)	opposition
pożyczka  (f.)	loan
kontakt  (m.)	contact
spór  (m.)	dispute
sympatia  (f.)	sympathy / support

Read the full story

The Polish president has called a meeting of the National Security Council (Rada Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego – RBN) for Wednesday, 11 February, triggering a heated political debate in Warsaw. The Council is a consultative body around the president, bringing together government representatives and opposition leaders to discuss key matters of state security.

According to presidential aides, the main agenda will focus on several strategic issues: Poland’s position on the planned EU SAFE loan mechanism, the country’s potential role in a new Peace Council, and, as a final point, questions about Speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty’s contacts in the East.

The issue of Czarzasty’s past was raised after the weekly “Gazeta Polska” published claims about his alleged “social and business contacts in the East”. The president’s team argues that, because the head of state has not received satisfactory explanations through regular channels, the RBN is an appropriate forum to ask questions both of the coordinating minister for the special services and of Czarzasty himself.

Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), which supports the president in security matters, said on Radio ZET that the Council is convened “only when there is something important to discuss”. He stressed that the main focus would remain on current security challenges and international commitments, with Czarzasty’s case as the last item. Cenckiewicz insisted there would be “no show and no attack”, and that the intention was a serious discussion of state affairs.

Speaker Czarzasty has responded by signalling that, if his past is put under the spotlight, he also wants to talk about President Karol Nawrocki’s own biography, including period work as a security guard at a hotel in Sopot. This exchange has fuelled speculation that the Council meeting could turn into a broader political confrontation rather than a strictly technical security consultation.

A separate controversy has emerged around the guest list. Polish media report that the presidential palace sent invitations not only to leaders of parliamentary clubs and caucuses, but also to party leaders. One of the invitees is Włodzimierz Skalik, head of the parliamentary club of the Confederation of the Polish Crown (Konfederacja Korony Polskiej), a small party associated with MEP Grzegorz Braun.

Skalik was the only MP who voted against a parliamentary resolution condemning Russian drone attacks on Polish territory. This has led several politicians to describe his group as a “pro-Russian party”, and to question whether its representatives should be present at a meeting where classified security information may be discussed.

Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Piotr Zgorzelski from the agrarian-centrist PSL said that it is very important that members of what he calls a “pro-Russian” formation do not participate in Poland’s National Security Council. In his view, inviting Skalik makes it impossible to talk in detail about strictly secret or secret matters. He appealed to the president to reconsider and not invite such parties to discussions touching on the core of Poland’s security policy.

Tomasz Trela from the Left (Lewica) also criticised the invitation, suggesting that the presidential administration had not carefully checked who was being invited. He argued that, if the goal was to talk about links with Russia, then Braun and Skalik should be asked about their views in a separate, individual meeting, rather than included in a collective security briefing. Trela accused them of being admiring of President Vladimir Putin and hostile to the European Union, although these are political characterisations rather than legal findings.

At the same time, TVN24 reported that Grzegorz Braun himself, the leader of the Confederation of the Polish Crown and a member of the European Parliament, did not receive an invitation. The president’s spokesperson explained that the RBN invitations were sent only to leaders of parties that have representatives in the Polish national parliament. Since Braun is an MEP and not an MP, the formal invitation went instead to Skalik, who leads the party’s group in the Sejm.

The upcoming meeting thus combines several layers of sensitivity: long-term questions about Poland’s security and international commitments, domestic political conflict over alleged Eastern ties of a key parliamentary leader, and a dispute over whether parties accused of sympathy towards Russia should be allowed to participate in high-level security consultations. For observers outside Poland, the debate illustrates how security policy, party rivalry and historical suspicions about Russia are closely intertwined in the country’s current political landscape.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school offering various types of online Polish courses with experienced Polish tutors who support learners at different levels.